Engagement
by Ukdallasfan
Summary: Follow up to Proposal :)


Three months to make ready for the wedding wasn't long. The size and scale of the occasion proved somewhat intimidating to Sue Ellen who, on top of that, had her final exams to prepare for. Determined to graduate with as good a degree as possible she burnt the midnight oil studying before turning all her spare attention to what she realised was going to be one of the biggest days of her life.

"There's too much choice!" she wailed to her best friend, Paula, on a day when it was all getting rather too much for her. "I feel like telling Miss Ellie that she should just decide on the flowers, the food, the music, well, all of it really! Then there's my mother trying to interfere. She's so embarrassing. I mean, JR's parents are paying for pretty much everything but, somehow, she has to take centre stage!" "Come on, Sue Ellen" Paula encouraged her. "You have great taste. This is your day, all eyes on the bride remember? Plus, you are normally very decisive when it comes to design and aesthetics, surely you must have a good idea of how you want your wedding to be?"

Sue Ellen sighed. Her friend was right. She did have a vision for the day in general terms at least. It was the small details that she struggled with, over-complicating matters such as how much greenery should be in her bouquet and what the place setting cards for the dinner tables should be like. Taking a deep breath, she opened the folder she had created for her wedding preparations and began leafing through and deciding, one eye on her desk and the stack of revision notes she had made causing her to feel guilty and conflicted.

Paula left and returned with coffee for them both. "Look, now you have made a start it's getting easier, isn't it?" she asked, hoping that calm was beginning to be restored. Sue Ellen nodded. "I just need to relax, don't I? I have a dress fitting tomorrow afternoon and I just know that it will have to be taken in again. I just can't seem to stop losing weight." "It's nervous energy that you're burning" Paula responded. "It happens all the time to brides-to-be."

"What's it like?" Paula asked. Sue Ellen smiled. The dress had been the easy part. Whisked off to New York by Miss Ellie, her mother in tow, her gown had been created for her by an up and coming young designer who specialised in bridalwear and Sue Ellen was thrilled with it. "It's off the shoulder, ivory satin with a fitted bodice and flowing skirt that falls into two tiers" she replied. "And I am going to have a long veil and tiara with it." Paula clasped her hands in excitement. "It sounds gorgeous! And the bridesmaids?" "The two girls, my sister, Kristin, and JR's niece, Lucy, are in pale yellow, almost lemon in colour, very pretty." "I just can't wait! Roger and I were so delighted to have been invited!"

Sue Ellen sighed. "I should be more excited but our finals are getting me down and taking the shine off the whole experience." Paula patted her hand. "You've been working very hard and they will be over all too soon, then you can really enjoy it" she answered, pointing to a photograph in the folder of an elegant floral display that had caught her attention.

"How is JR?" Paula asked. Sue Ellen smiled. "Oh, he's taking it all in his stride, unfazed, he just goes to work and lets everybody else get on with making the arrangements. He does seem to like having me at Southfork each weekend though and he is still very attentive to me when we go out on dates." Paula smirked. "Is he still trying to get you into bed?" Sue Ellen giggled shyly. "Always! It's not going to work though. Don't get me wrong, I do find him physically very attractive and it would be so easy to allow him to go further but I want our first time to be special and what could be more special than on our wedding night?"

Sue Ellen turned the page of her folder and the two young women pored over pictures of place settings and name cards for the tables. "Miss Ellie says she will do the table plans. It's better that way. I wouldn't know where to start with all the oilmen and ranch owners that have been invited. The Ewing guests outnumber the Shepard side by about twenty to one!"

"And the honeymoon?" Paula asked. "That and getting his suit are the only things JR has to do" Sue Ellen responded. "The honeymoon is a surprise. All I know is that we will spend our wedding night at the Mansion and then I must pack for warm weather. That's going to be the best part of it all, getting away with my new husband, spending time with him all alone, just the two of us." Sue Ellen smiled widely envisaging somewhere tropical and romantic, she and JR sitting under the stars together in newly-wedded bliss. "You're so lucky" Paula told her. "When Roger and I do the deed, there won't be much money left for a honeymoon. We will count ourselves fortunate to be able to scrape enough together for a couple of nights away." "I am lucky" Sue Ellen replied "but I'm not with JR for the money. I do love him, very much you know?" Paula nodded. "Yes, and that's why you are so lucky! The man you love also happens to be one of the richest in Texas. It's the dream combination!"

The following weekend Sue Ellen reflected on her best friend's words as she and JR sat out on the patio of Southfork ranch with Miss Ellie. Her fiancé was reading the newspaper whilst she and Miss Ellie were ticking off items on a list of things to do. Sue Ellen looked up from her task briefly and watched him. He always looked so sexy when he was concentrating on something, she told herself. He met her gaze suddenly and smiled, his bright blue eyes shining, his grin wicked yet so appealing. "Honey?" he asked. Sue Ellen laughed gently. "You just looked so engrossed in your reading, that's all" she told him. Miss Ellie's attention turned to her son and prospective daughter-in-law. "Oh, Sue Ellen, JR has been like that since he was a young boy, always poring over the financial pages, working out what the company should do next" she chuckled, noting the frisson between the two of them. At first, she had worried about Sue Ellen's intentions where her eldest son was concerned but, over time, she had been persuaded that the young woman was really in love with him, the money and associated privileges mere bonuses and not the motivation for her.

"I'm going inside to take a look at how lunch is coming on" Miss Ellie announced, picking up her notebook and pen. "JR, you'll be pleased to know that, between the two of us, pretty much everything is now in place for your big day!" "Thank you, mama" JR responded. He waited for his mother to return indoors before taking Sue Ellen's hand and pulling her onto his lap for a kiss.

"Sugar, I don't think I can wait much longer" he whispered to her as their kiss naturally broke. "I love you and I want to show you just how much. I mean, in just a few weeks we will be married. What harm can it do?" Sue Ellen smiled and pecked him on the lips. "That's it, though, isn't it? In just a few more weeks we will be married and being together as man and wife will be so much sweeter. I love you, JR, and it would be so easy to say yes especially when you kiss me and hold me in your arms like this but I'm convinced we should wait."

They kissed once more, Sue Ellen allowing him to stroke her thigh and draw her ever closer to his body. In just a short while she would be Mrs JR Ewing and the thought made her very happy.

THE END


End file.
